What is post-judgment interest?

It is the interest a money judgment earns from the date it is entered until it is paid. Each jurisdiction sets a statutory rate and a compounding rule, so a judgment creditor is owed both the principal and the interest that has accrued since entry.

Why do some states show a floating rate?

Many states tie their rate to a Treasury yield or the prime rate, so it changes weekly, quarterly, or annually. For those jurisdictions the tool prompts you to enter the current rate from the relevant index, because no fixed number stays accurate.

How is the federal post-judgment rate set?

Under 28 U.S.C. 1961 the federal rate equals the weekly average 1-year Treasury yield for the week before the judgment, compounded annually. Because it floats every week, you should enter the current published rate rather than rely on a stored default.

What is a per-diem interest figure?

The per-diem is the daily interest the judgment accrues, useful for settlement letters and pay-off quotes that change each day. The tool computes it on a simple basis as principal times annual rate divided by 365.

Is this legal advice?

No. The rates are statutory defaults that change and may be overridden by a contract rate or a specific court order. Always confirm against the current statute and any applicable agreement before relying on a figure in a filing or demand.

What is the Post-Judgment Interest Rate Reference?

Provides an embedded table of statutory post-judgment interest rates and compounding rules by jurisdiction, then calculates total accrued interest on a judgment from the date of entry. For judgment creditors and collection attorneys quantifying interest owed. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Post-Judgment Interest Rate Reference

Name: Post-Judgment Interest Rate Reference
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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A money judgment keeps earning interest from the day it is entered until it is paid, and the rate depends entirely on the jurisdiction. This reference embeds the statutory post-judgment interest rate and compounding rule for the federal courts and all 50 states, then calculates exactly how much interest a judgment has accrued.

How it works

Two formulas cover the compounding rules used across jurisdictions:

simple:           interest = principal × rate × years
annual compound:  total    = principal × (1 + rate)^years
                  interest = total − principal
years = days_since_entry / 365

Most states use simple interest at a fixed statutory rate. A handful compound annually, and many float to a Treasury or prime index — for those the tool asks you to enter the current rate so the accrual stays accurate.

Worked example

A judgment of $25,000 is entered in California, which applies simple interest at a statutory 10 percent rate. After exactly one year (365 days):

interest = $25,000 × 0.10 × 1 = $2,500
per diem = $25,000 × 0.10 / 365 = $6.85/day
payoff   = $25,000 + $2,500 = $27,500

If the judgment remains unpaid for three years, the accrued interest on a simple-interest basis reaches $7,500, making the total payoff $32,500.

Federal vs state: key differences

Federal courts (28 U.S.C. 1961) use the weekly average 1-year Treasury yield for the week before judgment entry, compounded annually. This rate floats weekly and is published by the Federal Reserve. Because it is tied to short-term rates, it can be quite low during periods of low monetary policy rates and meaningfully higher during rate cycles.

State courts follow their own statutes, which range widely:

Some states fix a high statutory rate (for example, California’s 10 percent has been unchanged for decades).
Others float to the state’s published legal rate or the prime rate.
A handful compound annually; most use simple interest.
Contract judgments sometimes carry the rate stated in the underlying agreement, which can exceed the statutory default.

What drives the per-diem figure

Per-diem interest makes settlement negotiations concrete. A demand letter citing “$47.26 per day” is more persuasive than “10 percent annually” because it shows the debtor exactly how expensive delay is. The per-diem is always computed on the current outstanding principal. If partial payments have been made, apply them to reduce the principal before recalculating.

Notes for attorneys and creditors

Statutory rates change, often annually or when a legislature acts. A contract rate or a specific court order can override the default. States that index to a floating benchmark must be recalculated against the current published figure — the tool prompts you to enter a live rate for those jurisdictions. Use this as a planning and settlement tool; verify the controlling rate against the current statute and any applicable agreement before filing or making a formal demand.